Voter registration deadline hits: Emmet up, Charlevoix down

Following Monday's voter registration deadline to be eligible for the Nov. 4, the clerk's offices in both Charlevoix and Emmet counties saw a lot of fluctuation with total voters.

Neither the clerk's offices nor the Secretary of the State's office will be ready with complete tallies until next week. However, Charlevoix County saw a dip in the total number of registered voters, while Emmet expects an increase.

JoAnne Patrick, who handles voter registration in the Charlevoix County clerk's office, said that although more than 1,800 people had been registered in the county since Jan. 1, there was a slight drop in the total number of registered voters.

"People have left the state," she said.

Still, Patrick added that the rush to register was attributed more to the deadline than to increased attention with the current election.

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"Everybody is saying 'It's a presidential election' but I wouldn't say it's been higher than normal," she said.

On the other hand, Emmet County clerk Gail Martin attributed the ongoing presidential race with spurring more people to register.

"There is much greater interest in this election. People want to make sure they are registered, especially those who may not have voted in the primary, the school election or the January primary," Martin said. "I've definitely seen an increase of people wanting to register."

Martin said the numbers have fluctuated form week to week because people are more mobile than they have been in years passed. In 2004, the county had 24,540 registered voters and the total climbed to 25,500 for the January primary. Martin estimated the county to have more than 26,000 registered voters, but expected that figure to climb once she had tabulated all of the new voter registration forms.